Miami-Dade’s public libraries need a $20 million infusion this year to avoid steep cuts to staffing and operating hours. But county voters don’t want their property taxes raised to pay for it, according to a Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald poll.

Asked if they would support stemming the reductions with a tax-rate hike of about $25 more a year for the average homeowner, poll respondents opposed the increase by 56-41 percent, the survey by Bendixen & Amandi International found. The poll also gauged public opinion on a proposed expansion by Florida International University.

Opposition to the library tax hike was consistent across all age groups, though stronger with older voters who are more likely to cast ballots in local elections. Poll numbers also showed an ethnic divide over the issue, with 69 percent of non-Hispanic whites favoring the higher tax rate, compared to 68 percent of Hispanics opposing it. Black voters were against 55-40 percent.